I just started DM'ing a few months ago - I'm working on my first home-brew campaign, for context I am reskinning a bunch of stuff in the Lands of Intrigue in Forgotten Realms, and would appreciate some feedback on the world building.
BLUF: I don't think material plane monsters and creatures need to be evil by default. (example: Gnolls are nomadic tribes, some may be demon-worshiping, while others may just want to be left alone to hunt) I like the variety this gives me to integrate different characters into the world and more nuance than kill ____ monster on sight. (I specify material plane because it makes sense to me that extra-planar creatures are more tied to their alignment)
How might I do this with some higher CR creatures? I've been thinking about trying to have a polymorphed cloud giant or younger adult dragon as an influential NPC in the capital city, or maybe even a vampire. I'm struggling with finding some different or interesting motivations for these NPCs to be invested in the success of the surrounding city. How would that impact politics? I think this would be useful if my party wants a more political / intrigue heavy game its provides interesting characters, if they want a more plane hopping adventure its NPCs that probably have extra-planar interests rather than the local wizard or king. Have you tried this before and if so what were some of the effects or challenges you found?
The thing is, a lot of high CR creatures don't bring much to the table except for a knack for violence, so they'll mostly be found in roles where that talent is useful. That may include leadership, most societies value military force. The exception is monsters with useful movement modes (aerial and aquatic transport), non-combat exceptional or magical abilities, or exceptional mental attributes. For example:
Cloud Giant: they're pretty good at Wisdom and Charisma, which gives potential in fields such as commerce and politics, and their ability to cast Control Weather is quite valuable, as 8th level spells are not routinely available. They also appear to have an unspecified power to cause plants to grow to unnatural sizes.
Dragons mostly don't have specified powers that are all that useful (other than being large flying transport), but lairs and regional effects imply additional unspecified powers. Most aren't that valuable. The variant spellcaster option does give them some additional options, but not all that impressive.
It's a lot easier to integrate any lawful creature into a society than chaotic or neutral. In the stockyards southeast of our home city, most of the workers on the killing floor are goblins and hobgoblins. Their various tribes were all but wiped out, but they've made an uneasy alliance with one another in order to make an uneasy alliance with the society as a whole. They've got their neighborhoods, they speak Goblin to each other, etc. The Soapmaker's Guild is a powerful force in local labor despite its small size because it's about 100 female hobgoblin warriors with access to caustic chemicals.
If you're suggesting these beings operate out in the open, you could have a theocratic society ruled by the interpreters of the occasional riddles of a powerful sphinx. I'm not sure society would accept an open vampire as a leader, but every day I open the papers and reassess. FR already has the Xanathar.
If they're operating under the influence of polymorphs or some such disguise, I don't see any problem at all.
As to their motivation, any lawful being might well think that they're the only ones with the combination of qualities to bring real order and harmony out of the inherent chaos of hundreds of thousands of creatures jostling each other to survive in a single square mile. Vampires might have been powerful figures before they were turned and want to preserve their power. Mind flayers would want the cattle to be peaceful and calm and healthy. Githyanki would want to build an army to find and destroy mind flayers.
My city also had a silver dragon posing as a vastly wealthy merchant. He influenced politics by occasionally butting heads with a long line of dukes and by founding a great university where the finest minds could gather and he could watch them all at work making new inventions. When he learned that an old dragon rival of his was active in the area, he started building a battleship in the harbor and hiring mercenaries, which made the Duke deeply nervous and filled the streets with ill-tempered tough guys. The Duke responded by starting work on his own secret weapon project.
It seems like some of the really high CR creatures might just take over, or be placed in charge. A dragon as a head of state or a guild (like in ravinca) is fairly common in fantasy settings. Some of the more brutish types could join or form mercenary companies. It kind of seems like you’re treating them all like the traditional PHB races, where most any of them could do anything. For example it might be unusual for an elf to be the court magician for a human king, but it’s not impossible. So now there an extra layer where the captain of the guard might be an ogre. I guess what I’m saying is, I’d just think in terms of what the various monster types might be good at, and then just pepper a few in.
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I just started DM'ing a few months ago - I'm working on my first home-brew campaign, for context I am reskinning a bunch of stuff in the Lands of Intrigue in Forgotten Realms, and would appreciate some feedback on the world building.
BLUF: I don't think material plane monsters and creatures need to be evil by default. (example: Gnolls are nomadic tribes, some may be demon-worshiping, while others may just want to be left alone to hunt) I like the variety this gives me to integrate different characters into the world and more nuance than kill ____ monster on sight. (I specify material plane because it makes sense to me that extra-planar creatures are more tied to their alignment)
How might I do this with some higher CR creatures? I've been thinking about trying to have a polymorphed cloud giant or younger adult dragon as an influential NPC in the capital city, or maybe even a vampire. I'm struggling with finding some different or interesting motivations for these NPCs to be invested in the success of the surrounding city. How would that impact politics? I think this would be useful if my party wants a more political / intrigue heavy game its provides interesting characters, if they want a more plane hopping adventure its NPCs that probably have extra-planar interests rather than the local wizard or king. Have you tried this before and if so what were some of the effects or challenges you found?
This has been done a bit with Eberron. You could check some of those sources for inspiration.
The thing is, a lot of high CR creatures don't bring much to the table except for a knack for violence, so they'll mostly be found in roles where that talent is useful. That may include leadership, most societies value military force. The exception is monsters with useful movement modes (aerial and aquatic transport), non-combat exceptional or magical abilities, or exceptional mental attributes. For example:
Cloud Giant: they're pretty good at Wisdom and Charisma, which gives potential in fields such as commerce and politics, and their ability to cast Control Weather is quite valuable, as 8th level spells are not routinely available. They also appear to have an unspecified power to cause plants to grow to unnatural sizes.
Dragons mostly don't have specified powers that are all that useful (other than being large flying transport), but lairs and regional effects imply additional unspecified powers. Most aren't that valuable. The variant spellcaster option does give them some additional options, but not all that impressive.
It's a lot easier to integrate any lawful creature into a society than chaotic or neutral. In the stockyards southeast of our home city, most of the workers on the killing floor are goblins and hobgoblins. Their various tribes were all but wiped out, but they've made an uneasy alliance with one another in order to make an uneasy alliance with the society as a whole. They've got their neighborhoods, they speak Goblin to each other, etc. The Soapmaker's Guild is a powerful force in local labor despite its small size because it's about 100 female hobgoblin warriors with access to caustic chemicals.
If you're suggesting these beings operate out in the open, you could have a theocratic society ruled by the interpreters of the occasional riddles of a powerful sphinx. I'm not sure society would accept an open vampire as a leader, but every day I open the papers and reassess. FR already has the Xanathar.
If they're operating under the influence of polymorphs or some such disguise, I don't see any problem at all.
As to their motivation, any lawful being might well think that they're the only ones with the combination of qualities to bring real order and harmony out of the inherent chaos of hundreds of thousands of creatures jostling each other to survive in a single square mile. Vampires might have been powerful figures before they were turned and want to preserve their power. Mind flayers would want the cattle to be peaceful and calm and healthy. Githyanki would want to build an army to find and destroy mind flayers.
My city also had a silver dragon posing as a vastly wealthy merchant. He influenced politics by occasionally butting heads with a long line of dukes and by founding a great university where the finest minds could gather and he could watch them all at work making new inventions. When he learned that an old dragon rival of his was active in the area, he started building a battleship in the harbor and hiring mercenaries, which made the Duke deeply nervous and filled the streets with ill-tempered tough guys. The Duke responded by starting work on his own secret weapon project.
It seems like some of the really high CR creatures might just take over, or be placed in charge. A dragon as a head of state or a guild (like in ravinca) is fairly common in fantasy settings.
Some of the more brutish types could join or form mercenary companies.
It kind of seems like you’re treating them all like the traditional PHB races, where most any of them could do anything. For example it might be unusual for an elf to be the court magician for a human king, but it’s not impossible. So now there an extra layer where the captain of the guard might be an ogre. I guess what I’m saying is, I’d just think in terms of what the various monster types might be good at, and then just pepper a few in.